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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Fogle's fight with flesh-eating bug | Fogle's fight with flesh-eating bug |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Advertisement | Advertisement |
| Fogle: 'main concern was facial disfigurement' | Fogle: 'main concern was facial disfigurement' |
| TV personality Ben Fogle has spoken of the his battle with the "wily" parasite which left him with a potentially fatal flesh-eating condition last year. | TV personality Ben Fogle has spoken of the his battle with the "wily" parasite which left him with a potentially fatal flesh-eating condition last year. |
| The 35-year-old is to be regularly monitored by doctors for the next few years to ensure the leishmaniasis infection - which he contracted after being bitten by a sand fly in the Peruvian jungle - does not come back. | |
| He has just received the all clear after needing a second round of intensive treatment to kill the bug. | He has just received the all clear after needing a second round of intensive treatment to kill the bug. |
| Fogle, an increasingly high-profile adventurer who has appeared in several BBC series, said it had been "very difficult" to plunge from the peak of physical fitness to the depths of illness with a condition which can cause the internal organs to collapse. | Fogle, an increasingly high-profile adventurer who has appeared in several BBC series, said it had been "very difficult" to plunge from the peak of physical fitness to the depths of illness with a condition which can cause the internal organs to collapse. |
| When he became ill, he said he felt "scared , concerned, annoyed, frustrated". | When he became ill, he said he felt "scared , concerned, annoyed, frustrated". |
| "I travel a lot and I have always been very good at taking precautions while overseas. | "I travel a lot and I have always been very good at taking precautions while overseas. |
| "When you fall foul of some tropical lurgie it is worrying - especially when you don't understand what it is." | |
| Disfigurement | Disfigurement |
| Initially, he thought it might be malaria. | Initially, he thought it might be malaria. |
| "I had very much the same sort of symptoms - nausea, fatigue, diarrhoea - all the classic symptoms. | "I had very much the same sort of symptoms - nausea, fatigue, diarrhoea - all the classic symptoms. |
| "But one of the things I am most proud of that over the last 15 years of extensive travel is that I am very good at taking my anti-malarias, so I was particularly annoyed with myself that I might have got malaria. | "But one of the things I am most proud of that over the last 15 years of extensive travel is that I am very good at taking my anti-malarias, so I was particularly annoyed with myself that I might have got malaria. |
| Suddenly we are in the position where we can jet off all over the world because of the rise of low-cost airlines Ben Fogle | Suddenly we are in the position where we can jet off all over the world because of the rise of low-cost airlines Ben Fogle |
| "However in retrospect it would probably have been slightly better than what it turned out to be. | "However in retrospect it would probably have been slightly better than what it turned out to be. |
| "Not that much is known about leishmaniasis, but it can lead to quite nasty disfigurement and that was my main concern - the long-term effect it might have." | |
| Ben, who first came to public attention in the BBC reality TV show Castaway, said: "I realised I had been very lucky in my trips around the world and that while I'd always taken precautions, I'd taken a lot for granted. | Ben, who first came to public attention in the BBC reality TV show Castaway, said: "I realised I had been very lucky in my trips around the world and that while I'd always taken precautions, I'd taken a lot for granted. |
| "I'm not sure there's more I could have done - sand flies are simply one of the perils of the Peruvian jungle. | "I'm not sure there's more I could have done - sand flies are simply one of the perils of the Peruvian jungle. |
| "But I am more conscious now than ever of taking care of my health to avoid going through anything like that again." | "But I am more conscious now than ever of taking care of my health to avoid going through anything like that again." |
| Ben spent weeks in bed with the condition after returning from filming the BBC adventure series Extreme Dreams with a hole an inch wide in his arm. | |
| The infection was treated with high-dose drugs taken intravenously for an hour every day, and his heart and blood were regularly tested. | The infection was treated with high-dose drugs taken intravenously for an hour every day, and his heart and blood were regularly tested. |
| The cure, he said, felt worse than the disease. | The cure, he said, felt worse than the disease. |
| Fake medicines | Fake medicines |
| Ben is currently backing a campaign by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to encourage travellers to buy medication at home before travelling abroad. | Ben is currently backing a campaign by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to encourage travellers to buy medication at home before travelling abroad. |
| Fogle was treated with strong intravenous drugs | Fogle was treated with strong intravenous drugs |
| A survey by the RPS suggested a significant minority of travellers were prepared to go off on exotic holidays without basic essentials - including anti-malaria tablets. | A survey by the RPS suggested a significant minority of travellers were prepared to go off on exotic holidays without basic essentials - including anti-malaria tablets. |
| In addition almost one in five surveyed said they had bought medication abroad without professional advice purely because they thought they "recognised the packaging". | In addition almost one in five surveyed said they had bought medication abroad without professional advice purely because they thought they "recognised the packaging". |
| Ben said that, while having contracted a life-threatening condition while abroad, his principal concern was managing his allergies. | |
| "I'm allergic to pollen and big cats so I always make sure that I have anti-histamine tablets with me. | "I'm allergic to pollen and big cats so I always make sure that I have anti-histamine tablets with me. |
| "Suddenly we are in the position where we can jet off all over the world because of the rise of low-cost airlines. But some people don't even take their own specific medicines abroad. | "Suddenly we are in the position where we can jet off all over the world because of the rise of low-cost airlines. But some people don't even take their own specific medicines abroad. |
| "Language barriers can be immense and you may not understand what you are getting. And that's leaving aside the amount of fake medicine there is in some countries. | "Language barriers can be immense and you may not understand what you are getting. And that's leaving aside the amount of fake medicine there is in some countries. |
| "My message is a simple one: get prepared before you go." | "My message is a simple one: get prepared before you go." |
| Ben is doing just that, as he prepares for his next trip. | Ben is doing just that, as he prepares for his next trip. |
| "It is a bit like falling off a horse, you have to get straight back on it. | "It is a bit like falling off a horse, you have to get straight back on it. |
| "I am travelling back to a tropical region in a couple of weeks and yes, I will go back with slight apprehension, but I think it is important not to give in to things like disease and parasites and just take precautions." | "I am travelling back to a tropical region in a couple of weeks and yes, I will go back with slight apprehension, but I think it is important not to give in to things like disease and parasites and just take precautions." |